Arrow Lake ❝—by my blood & bone.❞ (lbr.)

The hubbub of activity surrounding the place Aure had chosen to whelp was undoubtedly because, well, she was whelping. A woman from Elysium came, as did the man from the other day, with the accent, who was also helping. Which was fine. That was fine. Many paws made light work, right? Heh, right?

Vercingetorix paced nearby. Back and forth. Back and forth. It was a selfish mixture of "I hope Aure and the kids will be all right" and "Oh my fucking GOD I can't go back from this." Seriously, once those kids hit the ground, he was a father. Forever. And although he was more than likely already a father, he was always able to IGNORE it.

But not now. Not now.

He heard some wails, some coos, and raced to the entrance of the whelping place, breathing hard. Are they fine? he rasped to either of the two midwives, eyes flashing between them. How many? Boys? Girls? He burst into a coughing fit, a sound like ripping paper up his throat. Goddamn. Are they okay? Can I-- See them?

Did he want to? Because that would make it really fucking real, and he wasn't sure if he wanted that just yet.